LPT: if you ever get wasps in your house you can use the extension hose on your vacuum cleaner to suck them up. The hose extension means you don’t have to get close to them.

(I’m fine with them outside as long as they don’t nest on my balcony, but inside is a problem.)

Seconding that there is nothing in the dots. It’s just yellow and green dots.

Have you considered PT? I’ve been for my back and knees and it’s been great. They give you homework to help you strengthen the right muscles to make the pain to away. They also walk you through how to do those exercises and take feedback to make sure you don’t hurt yourself.

The trick is to not use numbers. Use a tchotchke placed in a prominent place on your desk. My password changes frequently. The previous tchotchke was a goat pin, then a cactus figurine, then a binder clip. I just need to picture my desk and I know what the thing is.

And my desk is so cluttered it’s not clear what the special object is. (You know what they say: cluttered desk, cluttered mind. Empty desk…)

His name’s “Elvis” and he answered to “Aye-ellll-vis”. Now he doesn’t answer to anything because he’s gone deaf, but he’s still a great pup. He’s a senior terrier mix, about 10 pounds. He’s a bit of a velcro dog and I am the One True Human, so it sucks for him that I work outside the home. He’s stuck with Work From Home Partner, who just doesn’t fill the same void in Elvis’s heart. So, Elvis sleeps all day and then watches the front very attentively when he decides I should come home.

He still has bursts of energy. Last weekend he met a chihuahua his age. Elvis was like “omg, you’re slightly smaller than me and seem even more chill. Let me dance around and thwack you in the face so you’ll play with me”. The other pup was game and it was adorable to watch two seniors playing.

He goes on long hikes with me. He gets tired after about a block and will turn around and try and get me to go back to the car. I generally just carry him at this point. He’s lucky he’s tiny. He’ll lean forward to ask to be set down, then he’ll either sniff something or amble so very slowly along the path. He is the worst hiker.

This question reminds me of a dog I ended up with. He knew his name, but only in the same accent as his previous owner. So I’d be at the dog park in New England calling for my dog in the most exaggerated southern accent I could muster.

checks list Cool, the one I added (and documented) is still listed.

I’ve stolen it. I’m sure I’ll find a use for it somewhere

My grandpa taught me racist terms in front of my mom, for fun. Because “that’s what they were called when he was a kid.”

Other than that, he was pretty hands off as a grandparent.

I’m just giving to drop this link here. (Because it’s interesting, not because Nazis lack agency)

I was taught it was about states rights, too. In Kentucky, they were less forceful about calling it the "war of northern aggression.

Did you get taught that some slaves liked being slaves because it meant all their needs were met and they didn’t have to worry about anything?

Huh. I don’t think national pride that was a factor in my disappointment. I was more sad because 9 is a better number than 8, and Pluto is just a cute little guy.

Mine are pipecleanered neatly (couldn’t find the Velcro) and grouped into gallon Ziploc bags.

Mine sure isn’t. We were having funding problems before the pandemic.

Can also denote a difference in government styles: towns have a town council, cities have a mayor. Cities can be smaller than towns.

This depends on your region, naturally.

I use mine as my daily driver. It’s cute and sufficient. I still have a large smartphone at home for some things, but the Star is what I take into the world.

I learned about an expensive headset brand today. Their website was fun, their product is exactly what I want, and they have a 5-year warranty. The headsets come with spare ear pads. Never heard about them before today. I somehow trust they’re worth the price.

(Still ended up just buying new foam pads for my current $30 headset, but I was tempted.)

Psalm for the Wild-built. It was so sweet and gentle.

I have the red star (no laurels). It came attached to a really warm hat at a thrift store.

Mine is my first name in neat Gregg Shorthand, then squiggle squiggle.